The Tyrant Empress is Obsessed with Me

26 – The Frenzied Party (2)

One week before the party.

In the inner chamber of the Senestia Ducal Estate.

The usually quiet chamber, where maids come and go, the warm smell of tea, and a gentle atmosphere flowing.

The atmosphere in the chamber today was anything but normal.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“I’m sorry… Mom.”

The Duchess Senestia was scolding Siazza. No, she was chastising her.

“I thought you had finally come to your senses after working as a stewardess these days, but you were just gathering your strength, huh? To cause an even bigger mess?”

Siusia had always been prone to accidents, big and small, since the old days.

Nevertheless, she was sent to the evaluation office to gain some social experience, and she seemed to be slowly doing her part there…

“I don’t know. You figure it out.”

The Lady Coldly turned her head away.

Siusia pleaded desperately.

“Just this once, please help me. Mother, I mean, my lady. I can’t handle it on my own.”

“Pain is the essence of youth, they say. Use this opportunity to learn harshly.”

Aristocratic parties had various meanings.

Sometimes, it was to show off their presence by throwing a massive party and saying, “These youngsters these days don’t know the class of our house, do they?”

Or, when they saw someone with potential and wanted to befriend them but lacked an excuse, they would throw a party to promote friendship.

Or, they could mean-spiritedly exclude a person they disliked, while inviting everyone else.

Such complex meanings were involved in aristocratic parties.

Of course, there were times when they would just simply celebrate a birthday or purely enjoy the festivities.

However, this time, there was no particular reason for the party at the Senestia Duchy.

That’s why it was all the more suspicious.

The always-neutral Duke Senestia was holding a party, and its intentions were unclear.

For the aristocrats, it was a matter of great concern.

Any aristocrat even slightly interested in power had no choice but to attend the party in person to check on it.

Of course, there was a reason on the surface.

“Let’s all bake cookies and enjoy it!”

Naturally, no one believed this at face value.

“Baking cookies, you say? Is it a metaphor for grilling the imperial faction?”

“Has the Duke of Senestia finally decided on a course of action?”

“In ancient language, ironically, the interpretation of a cookie is greed. It seems that the Duke of Senestia is revealing his hidden fangs.”

For Siusia, who truly wanted to bake cookies, it was infuriating.

Of course, the attendance rate for this party was not an all-time high solely due to this reason.

No matter how influential the Duke of Senestia may be, it would be impossible to gather all the powerful families with this reason alone.

There was an unspoken protagonist for this party.

‘Ascal Debr.’

A man regarded as the closest to being the youngest minister, as well as the head of the empire’s evaluation office.

Not only those who attempted to discern the intentions of the Duke of Senestia, but also the influential figures who wanted to challenge this successful young man, had their eyes twinkling with interest.

The Duke of Senestia’s family, of course, had ears and was well aware of these circulating rumors.

“Is it too late to cancel now?”

“If you do, your already low reputation will hit rock bottom. Will you even be able to show your face at social gatherings?”

That’s right.

In the aristocratic society, Sisia, who was known for her mischievous behavior, was barely maintaining a precarious reputation.

Thanks to the halo of the Ducal family background, she had the title of ‘a bit mischievous but kind-hearted’. However, if the truth about this party was revealed to be a lie…

“Ah… Sisia Young Lady is attending this party? Then I will not participate.”

“Sisia Young Lady said that? Then it can’t be trusted.”

It would be as if she became a crying wolf.

So, Sisia had to do everything in her power to make this party a success.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t do it alone.

She desperately needed the help of the Duchess, but the Duchess coldly turned her back.

However, as always, there was a way out.

“What’s all the fuss?”

Short gray hair. A well-trimmed mustache, the same color as the hair. Although he had passed the age of fifty, the straightened waist seemed to testify the noble character of the uncompromising Duke.

The Duke was always soft with his daughter. The Duke of Senestia looked at Sisia benevolently.

“Dad!”

Upon seeing this, the Duchess sighed. This pattern of the Duke fixing the problems caused by his daughter happened again.

“Yes. You said you had a party. A cheerful and enjoyable party for all. That’s a good thing.”

“I knew you would understand, Dad!”

“But it seems like you’ve made it too big this time?”

Sisia laughed sheepishly.

“Yes. I shared a bit of the story, and everyone said they would attend. Accepting some and declining others seemed awkward, so I ended up accepting everyone…”

“Alright. Who’s coming?”

Sisia recalled the list of party attendees. There were quite a lot of names, but Sisia remembered them all.

“First, my boss, Aescal Devereux.”

“The young man our Sisia is so indebted to? I’ve always wanted to meet him. This would be a great opportunity.”

The Duke of Senestia stroked his mustache as he attentively listened to his daughter’s words.

“The Count of Teheran.”

“Oh. He’s an honorable knight. It would be good to build connections on this occasion.”

The Duke nodded. Count Tehern was leading the Lavender Knights and was a good knight who valued honor.

“Viscount Yorick.”

“Quite influential. Some may say his title is low, but his influence in the central politics is far superior to other nobles. A good person to have.”

The Duke smiled.

“Marquis Haval.”

“My close friend! There’s absolutely no problem with him. In fact, he will help us with the party.”

Sushia swallowed.

Up to this point, Sushia thought it was manageable, so there was no particular concern.

But now, the story was a little different.

“You won’t be upset, will you?”

“Of course not. Why would I be upset?”

“Prince Cain is also planning to attend.”

The Duke’s words paused for a moment.

“…Ha-ha. I’ll really have to pay attention to organizing this. One week really isn’t much time.”

Strength entered the Duke’s hand that was holding the chair. The slightly bulging veins must be Sushia’s imagination.

Inviting the country’s crown prince to a party was, before talking about the honor, an extremely laborious task.

First and foremost, the main concern was safety.

What if the crown prince was assassinated at the party? No matter how powerful the Duke’s household, it would be difficult to avoid responsibility. That would lead to a friendly extinction.

Or what if the crown prince gets food poisoning from spoiled food? That too would be the serious fault of the Duke for not inspecting the food properly.

The factors to consider such as the route, escort, and food were increasing overwhelmingly.

Duke Senesti sighed. Still, it was within a tolerable range. Although hosting the crown prince carried a great risk, there was also a return on that risk.

Building a relationship with the crown prince, who was obviously going to be the next emperor, was naturally a good thing; if he enjoyed the party and said as much, the Duke’s reputation would also rise.

“Yes. It will be a great party indeed.”

“Um… Her Highness Serena is also coming.”

Crack.

A strange noise came from the chair’s armrest. Sushia shifted her gaze.

“Princess Serena is quite difficult to deal with.”

From No ble mt L dot c om

Difficult.

The meaning behind that word was diverse.

Obsessive, annoying, and irritating… In some ways, it could be said that Princess Serena was more difficult to serve than Prince Cain, who could be called a hedonist.

For example, there was an incident like this:

A young debutante in high society accidentally stepped on Princess Serena’s dress hem.

From that day on, strange rumors circulated about the young debutante. About how she showed rudeness during the night, or how she engaged in strange acts with her pet dog.

And the young lady never returned to high society again. What was truly frightening was that those rumors were not entirely false…

The Duke furrowed his brows.

If there were even the slightest flaws, such as food quality being a bit low at a party, or the host being slightly incompetent, Serena had the ability to take advantage of such weaknesses.

The difficulty of the party rose even higher.

“Fine… Susia, from now on, let’s make sure to get permission when organizing such events.”

The Duke’s face seemed a little tired. He had to start working busily now.

And behind the Duke’s back, who had just stood up, Susia whispered.

“It’s not over yet… Prince Yulia will also be attending. And Count Dwar as well, and Marquis Sahanin…”

The Duke turned around.

“Madam, please fetch my cane from my office.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

The legendary wooden cane, which hadn’t been used for a while, was about to be awakened once again…

On the day of the party.

“No matter what anyone says~ The world is beautiful~”

Ascal hummed a song inside the carriage.

The carriage he received for becoming a 5th-class officer was truly remarkable. The seats were made of high-quality leather so it was comfortable to sit on, and there was little shaking due to the well-made wheels.

And.

“Wait for me, Susia. I’ll show you what a proper cookie is.”

He held the bag of ingredients in his arms.

Inside the bag were handpicked flour, eggs, butter, and other materials. He felt confident that with these ingredients, he wouldn’t lose in any baking competition.

Ascal looked out the window with excitement. They would soon be arriving at the Duke’s mansion.

The mansions of famous nobles were a feast for the eyes, just by looking at them.

‘…Something seems strange?’

Things didn’t feel right.

Although Susia had said it was a “small tea party,” the number of carriages he had been seeing had been increasing.

The crow emblem. That’s the exclusive emblem of Count Haval.

Owl emblem. That belongs to Count Tehern.

Shovel emblem. That is the work of Sir Yorik.

But it didn’t end there.

The carriages,

The carriages kept increasing.

Ascal sensed the crisis.

“Turn the carriage around!!!!!!!!!”

We must escape from here.

“Ah, Sir Ascal. The knights are blocking the road.”

“What do you mean?”

Ascal peered outside through the carriage window.

As the coachman had said, knights in splendid armor were blocking their way.

And on their shoulders was the emblem of a hawk, the same on each one.

The Knights of the Senestia Ducal House, the Silver Knights.

‘Why are the Silver Knights stopping me?’

It was human psychology to be wary when security was nearby. Even though he had done nothing wrong, Ascal felt his heart pounding.

“Sir Ascal Devere. Would you kindly step out of the carriage for a moment?”

The words were polite, but the atmosphere was oppressive.

Ascal had no choice but to get out of the carriage.

“What’s going on?”

Seeing the tall armored generals holding swords, Ascal felt intimidated.

But he must stand strong here.

He is an invited guest. There is no reason to back down.

“Welcome to the Senestia Ducal House, Ascal Devere.”

A lady in a dress appeared from behind the knights.

She had her hair braided up and a beautiful face with bright makeup.

“…Sushia?”

Though she wore makeup akin to a heavily armed knight, he sensed her unique aura. This woman was Sushia.

Thump.

At that moment, the Silver Knights suddenly kneeled on one knee.

It was a graceful gesture.

And then, Sushia suddenly approached and grabbed Ascal’s hand with both of hers and pleaded.

“Chief… Please help me… I’m in big trouble…”

The Silver Knights followed suit.

“Please help us!”

“Please help us!”

Ascal’s mind went blank.

‘What on earth have they done…’